Here is a look at some of what has been going on across Canada this week, church-wise. Also, the month of August brings us the feast of The Ascension and with it an assortment of Marian pilgrimages and celebrations. First up, in Vancouver the Eparch Emeritus of the Ukrainian Eparchy of New Westminster (the Ukrainian ...read more

Rome, the eternal city, is conveniently located just barely inland from Italy’s Tyrrhenian coast and is surrounded by hills. This combination of geographical features means the summer months are hot, humid and smoggy. By August, it is next to impossible to breathe in the city. Thus Roman residents flee and take refuge in the beach ...read more

Today is the bicentenary of the priestly ordination of the Curé of Ars. God always supplies the Church with saints in each century, but a few of these shine so brightly that everyone can recognize them even during their lifetime. St. John Vianney is such a saint, who easily became my favourite after I had ...read more

  As part of my research into the life of Venerable Henriette Delille, founder of the Sisters of the Holy Family, I recently attended aa unique Mass at St. Augustine’s Church – the place where Henriette Delille and Juliette Gaudin pledged to live in community; thus founding the Congregation of the Sisters of the Holy ...read more

This past week I had the good fortune of being able to attend the 133rd Supreme Convention of the Knights of Columbus in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Given that I am not a member of the order, it was my first time attending such an event, albeit as a member of the media. I had seen the event play out ...read more

For decades, the Franciscan University of Steubenville has been offering their famous teen conferences to groups around North America. This past weekend Toronto hosted its second Steubenville Conference. The team included Chris Stefanick, Matt Fradd, Cooper Ray, Sr. Miriam Heidland and Fr. Chris Martin. If you missed the broadcasts of their keynote talks on our ...read more

Three days after the demise of Hiroshima, on 9 August 1947, a second atomic bomb devastated the port city of Nagasaki. The “Fat Man” bomb, with 6.4 kg of plutonium and supposedly 30% more destructive power than the Hiroshima counterpart, missed the original city centre target by 3 km and hit the Urakami valley area ...read more

Last week, we saw that because God loves us freely, faithfully, fruitfully and totally, Married Love, has to be free, faithful, fruitful and total. This is why we can say that in Marriage we come closest to loving another person the way God loves us. But can we do that? Can I love my wife the ...read more

At 08:15, 6 August 1945, Feast of the Transfiguration, the atomic bomb nicknamed the Little Boy was dropped by a B-29 bomber, and detonated at a height of 450 m over the city of Hiroshima to maximize its destructive effect. At that very instant, people’s faces were not transfigured but transformed. History was rewritten, not ...read more

Pope Francis has returned to his regular schedule of activities at the Vatican. He held his first general audience this week after taking a one month break. His statement that divorced and remarried Catholics should not be treated as if they have been excommunicated made headlines around the world. However, the real issue that the ...read more